Robert Green is Right. So is Scott Duxbury

I fear for the West Ham future of Robert Green. His outburst in The Sun yesterday was uncharacteristic and can be interpreted in a number of ways. Either it was to alert other clubs to his discontent or it was a genuine attempt to alert the club to his unhappiness. I am afraid I fear it was the first.

West Ham’s official response was brief and to the point. He only signed a five year deal a year ago, with the promise of a review in 2009.

On the face of it, little has changed since Green signed his contract a year ago. At that tome there were many more highly paid players than him, yet he was willing to accept the situation then. Or if he wasn;t, he and his agent showed a remarkably weak sense of their negotiating position.

Since then, the only thing that has changed has been Green’s emergence as Hammer of the Year. There’s little doubt that he was our best player last season.

The Club’s response showed little recognition of that, merely pointing to the facts of the situation. It would have been very easy to flush Green out and say, while we are fully aware the agreement was due for review in 2009, we recognise Rob Green’s superb performances last season and if he has concerns we are happy to listen to them and do what we can to demonstrate that he remains an integral part of our long term plans. Instead, a door was shut in Green’s face, and if he genuinely was unhappy and didn’t feel loved, that situation was certainly made no better by what Scott Duxbury said.

The truth is, I suspect, that Duxbury is under orders from the Board to cut the wage bill. We already know he wants to cut the size of the squad to about 26 or 27 from nearer 40. Fringe players like Quashie and Davenport need to go. But you also have to keep happy those who are left. If it had been Hayden Mullins uttering these comments, most of us would be saying that he can bugger off. None of us want Green to go and if his state of mind is genuinely off base, then it doesn’t bode very well for his performances next season.

I am afraid the result of the last two days is that the likes of Arsenal, Manchester United and others may well be sitting up and taking notice. We all know that goalkeepers come comparatively cheaply, and there are several Premier League clubs in need of a good goalkeeper at the moment. We need to keep Green, almost whatever it takes.

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35 Responses to Robert Green is Right. So is Scott Duxbury

Totally agree with the comments made. Any good employer will regard staff that excels in their work , are entitled to be financially rewarded for one’s endeavours, & to save money get rid of the dead wood that we have accrued

I agree totally, we have to keep Green, surely if the squad is trimmed to 26 there would be more money to offer him? The board had to make a public statement but I hope in private they have made reassuring noises.
I head you on the West Ham podcast “Stop, Hammer time” and have followed your blog since, also took your advice on blogging & have added a link to your blog on my own page.
Up The Irons!
PS. You need to read through your blog for typing errors before posting! Hehe!

I think Green has been a cheeky boy and should’ve kept his mouth shut. I fully understand and agree with West Ham’s stance and position on this.

Green only negotiated a lengthy deal with the club last summer, with a review of the terms of that contract agreed to take place in the summer of 2009. Green agreed to this and so I don’t see how or why he has come out with these comments.

As good a keeper as he is, we don’t need this sort of stuff coming out in the papers. No other player, apart from Boa Morte at the end of last season, has come out and expressed any kind of discontent at the club. We have a settled and potentially decent team at the moment, and whilst Green is currently a key part of that, I would rather see us sell any player discontent or dissatisfied with club and bring in players who want to play for it.

I know he keeps saying he loves the club and the fans and doesn’t want to leave, and I understand why he feels he should have parity with some other players in terms of wages, but did he need to express this in a two page exclusive in the Sun newspaper?? No he didn’t. He’s acted rashly and foolishly, and has gone down in my estimation. And as much as I rate him, I’d not be wholly disappointed if we sold him after this debacle, all created by himself and himself alone.

Very strange words from Green, he must know that they would not go down well with WH, he said he had not spoken to Curbs about this situation which does not make sense to me. I can only conclude he wants away despite saying the conta. Pity as we all liked him.
If he really wants away then best to let him go.

Even if the sentence from Green is partly true – he may have said something sometime – I really think this may been highly fabricated or at least exaggerated by two parts: His agent and The Sun. Green wrote two very inteeligent pieces for The Independent after his African trip, why would he go to the lousy paper The Sun a week afterwards to crack these “news”? And moan? I can understand if Green wants an improved contract (like all of us!) but these few lines in The Sun shouldn’t rock the world. But I guess it’s enough to make Duxberry and all the fans sweat. Another selling argument from The Sun.

Am I the only one who is sick to death of these footballers with no idea of what’s happening in the real world.We all know they are slaves but. Two of my friends have lost their jobs in last 2 weeks at under £20,000 a year probaly 3-4 days pay for Robert Green. If you signed a 5 year contract less than 12 months ago then honour it. If you are were not happy with your pay don’t sign the new contract at the time or sack your agent if you made a bad deal. I think that Arsenal are after him and he is starting the procedure of justifying the reason to leave because of his wages.

Robert Green a few weeks ago was telling the guardian how he was crying at the poverty in Kenya. Well Robert things are changing in this country you are lucky to have amazing paid job with guaranteed employment for 5 years and doing something most fans can only dream of.

In life contractor agreements often seem unfair, but once you have signed upon those terms you need to abide by those terms. However Green could try to get around those contractual terms by asking Duxbury for more money if he keeps a clean sheet during a game or he makes an outstanding save that keeps us in a game etc. This way Green would more hungry than ever and would even push him up the England standings that is for sure. I think Scott Duxbury is right, because otherwise how many more players would be knocking at his door in the next few months. Although we all can feel some sympathy for Green, some times in life we have to take the rough with the smooth, I am afraid.

There surly is a great deal of spin from the media on the Green quote. However, he is a good keeper and needs to stay at WH. WH are guilty of setting the president of renegotiating Ashtons contract, so Green feels that he should be afforded the same treatment, especially as he played all last season and Ashton did not.
The summer transfer window is the time that players, clubs and agents become verbal about being unsettled and unsettling transfer targets. We did not have all this media spin prior to the introduction of the window.
Contracts now seem to offer little protection to the clubs if a player fees the grass is greener elsewhere (excuse pun). If a player plays well he feels the need to be rewarded uotside of the terms of his contract, if he flops he sits back and takes the money until his contract expires .
Surly the FA should look at contractual matters and a standard contract agreed by all parties that each year the contract can offer an increase to a successful player and a decrease to a disapointing player. If a decrease causes a player to wish to leave then he can find another club and buy out his contract by way of transfer fee from the new club. This can apply to contracts of any duration. A successful player would be offered increased terms and longer contract for as long as he remains a sucess at that club. The club that have any player under contract would then surly have the rights of a normal employer and the player that of a normal employee.
I think this may something along the lines of Sep Blatters ill conceived comments about slavery. At present the contractual system seems to fail both club and player and provide agents and the media with a lot of benifits.

Much as I like Rob Green, as a player (deserved hammer of the year) and as a bloke (proud to read about a west ham player pushing his boundaries and helping charities in africa this summer, instead of fighting outside faces nightclub), I think this is exactly his way of moving on to a top four club (probably arsenal) without having the fans turn against himand label him a judas. I hope I’m wrong, and I hope he stays. If he really is one the lowest earners then there is no real financial benefit in offloading him(it would cost more to replace him) and the board should stick to their guns as the mancs have done with ronaldo.I believe if that happened Greeny would just get on with it and not “throw a reo-coker” for the season. He’d be very silly if he did.
Having said that, it wouldn’t hurt to give him a bit of a pay rise, but if that can’t be done, a meeting and a commitment to a significant rise next year following his part in a successfull season with a smaller squad. If he’s still not happy after that then we will all know that what he really wants is a move away from West Ham.

Let’s not get too excited over this. First of all it was in the SUN(nuff said). They can’t even get the simplest of stories right so let’s not worry what they say.

Secondly,we don’t really know what Green said as it was only a filler type story that we read about at this time of year.

We need to keep Green and to do that I would offer him some sort of incentive to keep so many clean sheets in a season and if he manages to do this he should then be offered an extra payment of some kind.

I’m with Duxbury on this one. A contract signed only months ago with a specific clause specifying when a review is due. What more does Green want ? The Sun item could have been written by his agent. Probably was.

Get in the real world ! If I was Curbs I’d just ignore it – far more important issues to worry about.

Come on, this is a story in the Sun. If you believe the story, then Green is as good as he is greedy. Why did he sign the contract last year if he is feeling so under-valued now? Maybe he has read the Sun and believes that Arsenal or Spurs want him.

I for one, like 9 ot of 10 stories the Sun and the rest of the media write about West Ham, believe its 99% bullshit and 1% truth. He’s name afterall is Robert Green and they did get that right.

Since the Carlos Tevez affair last year, the old hacks in the media when short of something to write, have never been slow in having a pop at the Hammers. Maybe they see the Hammers as an up and coming team and as most are either Arsenal or Spurs fans, see us as more of a threat then they used to and are trying to derail us?

He’s had one good season so he wants a pay rise? So every time someone has one good season he needs a new contract? The 2009 review of his contract is more than reasonable. Needs to be shown love? He was voted player of the season by the fans and he is a first choice selection for the manager – what type of love is he looking for?

Robert Green was well out of order. I was very surprised by some of the things he was saying, even mentioning his team mates by name when comparing wages. That’s crazy…he could cause disharmony in the squad with antics like that. The way he was talking you’d think he was on the minimum wage. He’s dragged his club into the media and quite frankly has made it a difficult situation for himself now. He seemed very single minded and careless to me.

Let me tell you a true story about Robert Green. A friend of mine who worked for a popular retail store sold him a television. Green asked for a discount, would you believe it, and promised my friend tickets to a match. He never saw Robert Green again. That is a true story.

I’m with the club on this one; you can’t have players running to the media with the clubs internal matters. He tried to use the media to get what he wants.

firstly green writes for the sun so theres no chance he was mis quoted.
my thoughts are he wants out.you dont start something like this in the press if you can help it.why did west ham respond?that makes no sence at all.i fear the next step will be green handing in a transfere request and then all hell will break loose.

Robert Green knew very well what other players at the club were getting when he signed his contract extension last year, so the notion he is suddenly feeling undervalued and unappreciated by the club doesn’t wash.

What he seems to be doing is sending a ‘come and buy me’ signal to other clubs, without asking for a transfer in so many words, possibly so as not to endanger any loyalty bonus to which he might be entitled.

You can’t blame him, really – his stock will probably never be any higher than it is now, so this may be the optimum time for him to secure a better paid job at a richer club.

As Roy Keane said recently, players need to put their own personal interests first, because their careers are short, and clubs rarely show any loyalty to players, getting rid of them just as soon as it suits, and regardless of how loyal and dedicated the player was to the club.

Having said that, I hope he doesn’t leave just yet, because he has proved a diamond on his day, and I don’t believe we have an equivalent or better option waiting in the wings at the moment. Or perhaps Mr Duxbury knows better?

Yeah VerbalVolley you might just have something there?,i just think its that recent thing of ‘player power’ that every player seems to be expressing at the moment.Some how West Ham have got to ensure that Green is happy so the premiership vultures can be kept firmly at bay!.

I wouldn’t think that there’d be a Hammers supporter who would say that Greenie doesn’t deserve more money. Morally, i hear what he says. Legally, i hear what Duxberry says. Legal always beats moral in this world. For the club to make a statement means he, and or his agent, have asked for a review. West Ham are selling some players, he isn’t one of them, & they are cutting back on their wage bill. No secrets there. What concerns me is his & Zamoras comments in close succession. I believe him when he says he is unhappy at the clubs response. However there are other issues that are about to be addressed & management simply do not wish to pay him more until legally bound. I don’t think the owners have the money they had three or fours years ago. Who in banking has ? I think Green has made his point with the Club & the fans. I think he will be inbetween the sticks for us this year.

Having only just signed a 5 year contract last year, with a built in review period next year, it beggars belief that Rob Green now decides he isn’t paid enough!

My advice to him is get a new agent because you should have negotiated a better deal last year and if he is unhappy, why not speak to the club. Better than going to the press, unless he has another motive, like wanting to leave!

I’ve been following the Hammers for nearly 40 years and I’m losing interest in the game of football as a result of players and agents activities in the modern game.

Lets put all this nonsense to one side. Never mind what he signed when he signed it who gets paid more. The basic fact is Robert Green is fundamental to our success next season. If Duxbury cant see that he does not deserve to remain in post. Do you think the top four would allow this to happen to one of their top players?

As fans we know the value to our team of Robert Green so lets spend a lot of time at our preseason games chanting his name letting both him and the Board know just how much we want to keep him.

Top class footballers are very privileged people financially and in the current times of global economic uncertainty and the ‘working class’ people of the world (who generally make up the majority of football fans) struggling with the increased cost of living, People such as Green need to have a good look at their situation and realise how lucky they are.

Like ‘MORRO’ stated maybe he should have approached the club privately instead of approaching the press.

On another point did anyone see Zamoras goal for Fulham against Celtic, who said he was not a top class goal scorer. Selling him was a mistake, best of luck to him.

From everything we have read from Robert Green’s articles and everything we think we know about him (decent bloke) as well as a top keeper, he would be the last player I would expect to adopt the spoilt, greedy footballer pose that the Sun article would have us believe. I think Rob Green is a key player for us and Curbs should be looking to build the team around top quality like him. Let’s give him the benefit of the doubt until proved otherwise, as the Sun is hardly a beacon of truth and light.

On another subject, if the club are so keen to cut the wage bill, can anyone explain why it is taking so long to get rid of the rubbish like LBM? I hoped that by now we would have seen more action on this front.

to be honest i thought there was more substance to Robert Green. The money in football has become so detached. It doesn’t reward for value it rewards average players with obscene amounts of cash for being pushy money grabbing little bastards. There is a recession on people are struggling and don’t want to listen to likes of Lampard, Ronaldo, and Mr Green saying that a couple of million a year is just such a struggle! Get a grip, join the real world come and do what the rest of us have to on real shit money. Robert Green go, there are other keepers out there. Dont let the club be held to ransom by these out of touch retards.

I feel this is the ‘eggy legacy’ coming home to roost here. He wants more because he looks around, seeing squad players picking up several thousand more than him a week.
Bad timing, granted, after signing a new deal, but I guess (or perhaps his agent guesses) this is a good time to move on, with the transfer window in sight, & he isn’t getting any younger.

…’I am not getting in the England squad at the moment and I’m not getting European football, but I love it here, which is why I want to sign a long contract. The fans here are fantastic. Why would I want to leave?’…
Erm, so you can play for England and play European football!
Seeing as he already has a long contract (with a pay review thrown in for good measure) i can only assume he is looking for an excuse to leave, in which case we should get rid, Oh and if it’s fabrication by the press, as some amongst you believe, why hasn’t Green issued a denial? also the club doesn’t usually feel the need to issue a statement regarding a fabricate3d story. Plus there is the small matter of Green’s good friendship with the journalist that actually wrote the piece.
Whichever way you look at it this is a very serious error of judgement on Green’s part, now, is that a trait we want in our first choice keeper?

We would be in a world of trouble without Green, although conducting pay negotiations via the public prints is not generally a good idea. I think there is a thin line between WHU allowing itself to be the victim of a shake down and doing what is necessary to ensure the crown jewels are not sold /again/. I hope BG and Duxbury know how to tread that line.

As much as I like and value Robert Green; Scott Duxbury is right: the contract was signed a year ago. I don’t know what got into Green: he has always appeared to be reasonable, happy and one of the wiser members of the team. He always seems to have a heart of oak and is made of stouter stuff than the Bentley Boys. A bad day? Choked with his mere 26000 quid a week? Who knows: but I believe the club is more important than an individual: Duxbury must stick to his guns. Green will stay; I think WHUFC and MUFC made their points very clear: whether you’re Ronaldo or Green – you’re under contract.

What really brings things into perspective though, is that no sooner had Green whinged about his contract, than a “mere” regular bloke – a WHUFC employee (IT Department) scores against Green for Hampton and Richmond Borough… Embarrassing after such an outburst!

As for Goalkeepers in demand: look at someone who is generally considered at least as good as Green by the England management: Scott Carson. He was let go by Villa and is now at West Brom. I bet he gets a lot less than Robert Green every week. I don’t think Green is really in the position to throwing the mud.

jgsirons – The top 4 are victims of player power just as much as the smaller clubs i.e Ronaldo, Adebayor and Drogba all posturing until they decide who will pay them the most. Green has let himself down here and we should look for a replacement but with Wright leaving for Ipswich any day now we may have to try and keep him sweet till ’09.

Agents, newspapers and the internet. A young man earning far more than is reasonable being egged on to earn more for his agent / management company.

There are far to many hangers on around players now, because where there is money there are the low life vultures, don’t blame Rob Green he is a young man having his head turned by these hangers on, blame Rupert Murdoch and his Sky TV deals for making the Premier League a subsidary of his own organisation and basically controlling a business from behind a TV camera. The amazing thing is the Premier League seem oblivious to the fact, the players in general seem to actually think they are worth the money they are being paid, the clubs seem happy to pay ridiculous sums on transfers and Murdoch holds all the aces because when he decides that football is not as exciting as tiddlywinks and pulls the plug, football as we know it will just implode on itself.

Second thoughts Rob, go for it! milk it for all it’s worth, why not every other so and so seems to. You along with your peer group are playing football in a fantasy time…it will not last!

subject change just quickly,bellend seems to be on fire acording to the reports.cant wait to see how he and ashton fit together.could be another cottee frank partnership with loads ov goals? bugger it,i woke up !

Green has just come off the back of a great season. He must surely be getting towrds number 1 for England. James is old, Robinson is rubbish, and the likes of Carson haven’t lived up to their hype. There’s no doubt in my mind that his stock has therefore risen.

We need to publically and privately back Green. I doubt he will hold us to ransom – he seems like a decent enough bloke. If not then the premiership big guns will all come sniffing soon. Man U and Arsenal both need new GKs in my opinion.

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About Iain Dale

I'm a season ticket holder in the Dr Martens Lower and originally come from Saffron Walden in Essex, although I now live in Tunbridge Wells. By day I am a political writer and commentator for various media organisations including the Daily Telegraph, the BBC and Sky News. I am also publisher of the new monthly magazine called TOTAL POLITICS. I want this blog to be a mixture of gossip, humour, reporting and analysis - with the odd rant thrown in too. My other blog is a political one at http://iaindale.blogspot.com and if West Ham Till I Die attracts half as many readers as that, I'll be very happy.